1. H&n White Trumpet
2. H N White Serial Numbers Years Sewing Machines
3. Hn White Cornet Serial Numbers

I think you might have the numbers wrong. I have a 1987 Miyata 912 which has O as the fist number in the serial but based on your serial number formula it would be a 1986. The development of a serial number list has been very difficult because of the lack of official records. White kept very detailed records but when the company was sold to the Seeburg Corporation all official records were destroyed.

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Ever wondered what you’re Yamaha guitar serial numbers tell you about your guitar? Or maybe you’re just curious about the year that your guitar was built?

Here’s the system that Yamaha uses for their acoustic guitar serial numbers and what those numbers can tell you about your guitar.

Where to Find the Serial Number

If you don’t already have your serial number, you’ll need to locate it and in some cases you’ll need to find out where your guitar was made as well – this information will usually be found next the serial number and will say “made in.” and then the country that the guitar was built in (either Japan, Taiwan or Indonesia).

H&n White Trumpet

This information is usually found inside the sound hole of your guitar.

How to Decode your Serial Number

Yamaha’s serial number system is one of the more complicated ones I have come across – so it’s a little bit involved.

But the complexity of decoding the number isn’t the most frustrating part of this particular serial number system – it’s the fact that the serial numbers actually repeat every decade – so you actually have to know what decade your guitar was built in to begin with.

Anyway, let’s start with how the main system works – if you don’t have a serial number that looks one of the ones in the next section, then carry on to the following sections for the less common serial numbers.

Most Common Yamaha Serial Number System

The most common Yamaha serial numbers follow a system that uses 2 letters, followed by 5 numbers.

Let’s look at an example of what this might look like – MM12022

From this we can tell that this is the 22^nd guitar built on June 12 of either 1966, 1976, 1986, 1996 or 2006.

O.K. so how does this work?

The First Letter

The first letter represents the year that the guitar was built.

The letters H to Q each represent the number that the year the guitar was built in ends in.

H = 1

I = 2

J = 3

K = 4

L = 5

M = 6

N = 7

O = 8

P = 9

Q = 0

But it gives no clue as to the decade so for each letter it could represent the following years.

First Letter Years

H 1961, 1971, 1981, 1991, 2001

I 1962, 1972, 1982, 1992, 2002

J 1963, 1973, 1983, 1993, 2003

K 1964, 1974, 1984, 1994, 2004

L 1965, 1975, 1985, 1995, 2005

M 1966, 1976, 1986, 1996, 2006

N 1967, 1977, 1987, 1997, 2007

O 1968, 1978, 1988, 1998

P 1969, 1979, 1989, 1999

Q 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000

I can only assume that this has been continued beyond 2010 because I haven’t been able to find any information for a different system but I can’t confirm this. If anyone knows please feel free to leave a comment in the comments section at the end of this post.

So, in our example we have an “M” – so it could have been built in 1966, 1976, 1986, 1996 or 2006 (and maybe 2016?).

• MM12022

The Second Letter

The second letter represents the month that the guitar was built. A similar number system is used but includes 3 extra letters (X, Y & Z) to represent 10 (October), 11 (November) and 12 (December).

Second Letter Month

H January

I February

J March

K April

L May

M June

N July

O August

P September

X October

Y November

Z December

In our example, M = June.

• MM12022

The First 2 Numbers

The first 2 numbers represent the day of the month so this is pretty straight forward.

In our example 12 = the 12^th day of the month.

• MM12022

The final 3 Numbers

The last 3 numbers represent the unit number that was built that day.

So, in our example 022 means that this guitar was the 22^nd guitar built on that day.

• MM12022

If your serial number follows this format and you want a faster way of deciphering it check out the serial number wizard at the link below:

Note: The Serial number wizard at the link above only works for serial numbers that follow the format above. If yours doesn’t you’ll need to keep reading to decipher it.

What if My Yamaha Serial Number Doesn’t Follow This Format?

If your serial number looks nothing like this 2 letter, 5 number format, check out the other systems used below, your guitar might fit with one of these.

For these ones you will also need to know where your guitar was built – which you should be able to be found next to the serial number of your guitar and will say “made in.” and then the country it was built in (either Japan, Taiwan or Indonesia).

Note: The following only applies to acoustic, acoustic-electric and classical guitars. There is a different system for electric guitars and bases.

Made in Japan Custom Shop 1966 – 1985

These were just sequential serial numbers from 001 up to 1042.

To work out the year you’ll have to take a rough guess. The closer to 001 it is the closer to 1966 and the closer to 1042, the closer to 1985.

Made in Japan Custom Shop 1986 – 1990

These serial numbers have 1 letter followed by 4 numbers.

The letter represents the month and follows the same system for months as the most common system above.

The first number represents the year.

The last 3 numbers represent the unit number.

For example: J7012

This would be a guitar built in March of 1987 and it was the 12^th Unit made that day in the Japan custom shop.

The J is March as per the main system above and the year has to be 1987 since this system was only used between 1986 and 1990.

Made in Japan Custom Shop 1991 – 1996

This was a 2 letter, 3 number, then 1 letter system.

The first letter is the year and follows the same code as the main system above.

The second letter is the month and also follows the same system as the main system above.

The 3 numbers represent the unit number – but in this case the unit numbers started at 700 for some reason – so the first unit of the day wasn’t 001 but rather 701.

The final letter is an unknown internal code.

For example: IP703J

The example serial number above belongs to a guitar that was the 3^rd guitar built in September of 1992.

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Made in Japan Custom Shop 1997 – 2003

This is the same as for 1991 to 1996 with the following differences:

• There is no internal code at the end
• The unit numbers start at 001 instead of 701

For example: PP045

The example serial number here represents the 45^th guitar built in September of 1999.

Made in Japan Custom Shop 2004-

This uses a 3 letter, 3 number, 1 letter system.

The first 2 letters represent the year in this case. So you do get the decade here.

The third letter represents the month as per the main system.

The 3 numbers represent the unit number.

The final letter is an internal code.

For example: QNK026C

H N White Serial Numbers Years Sewing Machines

This guitar in the example serial number was the 26^th guitar built in April of 2007.

The Q represents an 0 and the N is a 7, meaning 07 for 2007.

Made in Japan Tenryu/Wada Factory 1946 – 1968

This is a 5 digit sequential system. There is no indication of year of production in this system.

Made in Japan Tenryu/Wada Factory 1969 – 1984

This is a nice and simple 6 digit system.

The first two numbers represent the year.

The Second two numbers represent the month.

The last 2 numbers represent the unit number.

For example: 790507

This is simply the 7^th guitar built in May (05) in 1979 (79).

Made in Japan Tenryu/Wada Factory 1985 – 1986

For this short period there is also a 6 digit serial number but doesn’t show the month.

The first 2 numbers are the year.

The last 4 numbers are the unit number.

For example: 860102

This represents the 102^nd (0102) guitar built in 1986 (86).

Made in Japan Yamaha Music Craft 1997 – 1999

This is the same system as used for “Made in Japan Custom Shop 1991 – 1996” except that the unit number started at 501 except for 701.

Made in Japan Yamaha Music Craft 1999 –

The first letter is the year.

The second letter in the month.

The 3 numbers are the unit number.

The unit number starts at 200.

For example: PL225

This guitar was the 25^th guitar built in May of 1999.

Made in Japan Yamaha Music Craft 2001 –

This is a 3 letter, 3 number, 1 letter system as follows.

The first 2 letters represent the year following the same coding system.

The 3^rd letter represents the month following the same coding system.

The 3 numbers are the unit number.

The last letter is an internal code.

For example: QJK033A

This would be the 33^rd (033) guitar built in April (K) in 2003 (Q = 0, J = 3)

Made in Taiwan Kaohsiung Factory 1971-2001

This is an eight number system.

The first number represents the year.

The second and third numbers represent the month.

The fourth and fifth numbers represent the day of the month.

The Final three numbers represent the unit number.

Because there is only 1 number representing the year, there are possible duplicates using this system.

For example: 30914023

This example serial number was the 23^rd guitar built on the 14^th day of September in either 1973, 1983 or 1993.

Made in Taiwan Kaohsiung Factory 2001-

In 2001 the Kaohsiung Factory system changed to a 3 letter, 6 number system as follows:

The first 2 letters represent the year.

The 3^rd letter represents the month.

The first 2 numbers are the day of the month.

The last 4 numbers are the unit number.

For example: QLY180122

The example serial number represents the 122^nd guitar built on the 18^th of November 2005 (Q = 0, L = 5).

Made in Indonesia YMMI (Yamaha Music Manufacturing Indonesia) 1990-1996

For this period in this factory they used an 8 digit serial number.

The first number is the year.

The 2^nd and 3^rd numbers are the month.

The 4^th and 5^th numbers are the day of the month.

The final 3 numbers are the unit number.

For example: 30814023

The example serial number represents the 23^rd guitar built on the 14^th of August in 1993.

Made in Indonesia YMMI 1997-1999

This is the same as for 1990 to 1996 except there are 9 numbers. The last 4 (instead of 3) represent the unit number, the rest are the same.

Made in Indonesia YMMI 2000-

This is the same as for 1997-1999 except there are 10 numbers. The first 2 numbers represent the year (instead of just 1 previously).

Made in Indonesia YMMI 2001-

The YMMI changed to a 3 letter, 6 number system in 2001 as follows:

The first 2 letters represent the year.

The 3^rd letter represents the month.

The first 2 numbers represent the day of the month.

The last 4 numbers represent the unit number.

For example: QKZ160062

The example serial number above represents the 62^nd guitar built on the 16^th of December 2004 (Q =0, K=4).

Is this Everything?

Apparently, some could even fall outside of this range. If you’re serial number doesn’t seem to match any of the above, you’ll need to contact Yamaha to see if they can tell you about your serial number.

Hopefully this will help most people to find the information for the serial number of their Yamaha guitar.

Photo Credit

Hn White Cornet Serial Numbers

By mt 23 from New York, USA (Land Locked Blues.) [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons